It has been three semesters since I have had the opportunity to have to teach a YA literature class. I am excited to be doing it again. It helps to usher in my work as the ALAN President. During the last year, I have been reading a wide variety of new authors mixed with some authors who are well established as I have been working on the program for ALAN Workshop this Nov. 25 and Nov. 26, 2019.
(More details about the workshop will be revealed over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.)
(More details about the workshop will be revealed over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.)
My reading really has been intense and all over the place. There have been so many wonderful books. However, there a number of newish authors I hope people get to know: Rory Power’s Wilder Girls; Helene Dunbar’s We Are Lost and Found; and Becky Wallace’s Stealing Home.
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Of course, there are some tried and true authors who have interesting new works: Meg Medina, A. S. King, Padma Venkatraman, Laurie Halse Anderson, Alan Gratz, and Kekla Magoon all have interesting additions over the last year.
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There were so many books and you just can’t include them all. So, I began to consider a variety of questions that might guide the creation of a syllabus.
Who takes the course?
What are their goals for the course?
Are they preparing to be teachers?
Do they just love YA literature?
What is important for me to cover in 15 weeks?
Do I want to discuss the origins of the YA movement?
Do I want to use my favorite lenses of Race, Class, and Gender?
Do I want to cover pedagogy?
Do I want to privilege self-selection?
If so, can I be sure that they get a broad exposure to the variety available?
Do I focus on literary quality by emphasizing books that have won awards that include YA literature?
Who takes the course?
What are their goals for the course?
Are they preparing to be teachers?
Do they just love YA literature?
What is important for me to cover in 15 weeks?
Do I want to discuss the origins of the YA movement?
Do I want to use my favorite lenses of Race, Class, and Gender?
Do I want to cover pedagogy?
Do I want to privilege self-selection?
If so, can I be sure that they get a broad exposure to the variety available?
Do I focus on literary quality by emphasizing books that have won awards that include YA literature?
Maybe, I should just buckle down and pick my favorites. Well, I could, but my students could find many of those by browsing my weekend picks over the last couple of years. Do I try to be an expert on everything? Well, of course not. People who try to do that are just masquerading as experts. Besides, I have had so many experts—teachers, academics, students, and librarians--who have developed an expertise and have generously share it through guest contributions on my blog. You might browse through posts by Lesley Roessing, Katie Sluiter, Alan Brown, Sharon Kane, Crag Hill, Stephanie Toliver, and Mark Lewis just as a beginning.
Well, I did finally make a few choices for the class. You can find the required text on my class subpage (YA Course Fall 2019) on Dr. Bickmore’s YA Wednesday under MORE on the main page. There are fifteen required books and the chance to self-select 7 more in are variety of categories—Middle Grades, Dystopia, Sci Fi or Fantasy, and Graphic Novels. (These will be posted as they are introduced to my students.)
In addition to those wide open categories there are three narrower options--one of three focusing on race and social justice in the United States--Chains, March, or All American Boys. These three choices are connected to an article, Crossing Selma’s Bridge, that I wrote with Gretchen Rumohr and Paul Binford about using YA to discuss historical moments.
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Another area of choice is one of several nonfiction book by Steve Sheinkin (Yes, there are so many others who write outstanding nonfiction, but Steve is coming to the UNLV 2020 Summit in June of 2020. Watch for a new page on the blog that highlights the UNLV 2020 Summit).
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The final selection is the opportunity to pick one of several books by A. S. King. I felt that my students should all be introduced to one of the finest living authors around today. Not just in the YA community, but among all writers. I really think that you should try one. I think the opening two pages of Dig are an absolutely stunning portrait of two people in a nutshell.
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There is a syllabus. Clearly, this post and the syllabus will reflect the type of YA Literature I love. I will try to let the syllabus be a guide instead of a mandate. Some of it may change, but a lot probably won’t. Students will read, they will write, and they will explore the wonderful world YA Literature.
Until next week.
Until next week.
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